


By the Book

by savethelastslice



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M, Kinda Fluffy, Knight School AU, Link is a small awkward child, Universe is kind of a mishmash of BOTW and Skyward Sword, and some pissed off Gorons, mild use of alcohol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-26
Updated: 2018-01-26
Packaged: 2019-03-09 14:18:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13483236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/savethelastslice/pseuds/savethelastslice
Summary: “Sidon,” said Link. “Why is it that when you told me that you knew someone who could help me, you did not mention that that person would be you?”Sidon blinked innocently up at Link from behind thick black rimmed glasses. They didn’t even have lenses, and this Zora wasn’t remotely myopic. Link would know. They’ve been best friends for years and years.“Would you have come if I had?” There was a sullen undertone coursing through that statement. Link thought about it. Yeah, he probably wouldn’t have.Or, Link undergoes a series of plans with Minor, Modest, and Major requirements of strength to maybe, just maybe make a friend.





	By the Book

“Sidon,” said Link. “Why is it that when you told me that you knew someone who could help me, you did not mention that that person would be you?”

Sidon blinked innocently up at Link from behind thick black rimmed glasses. They didn’t even have lenses, and this Zora wasn’t remotely myopic. Link would know. They’ve been best friends for years and years.

The curtains were drawn to shut out the evening sun, but the room had candles flickering along the cupboards (“Ambiance,” Sidon would later say. “It’s like, 70% of the persuasive power in there.”). Sidon was nestled comfortably on a large, old armchair. Other than the glasses, Sidon was draped in a cape the colour of midnight blue that, in all their years of friendship, Link has never ever seen before. He probably borrowed it from someone for the sole purpose of being excessively extra.

“Would you have come if I had?” There was a sullen undertone coursing through that statement. Link thought about it. Yeah, he probably wouldn’t have.

“I promise on the honour of my people,” Sidon said solemnly. “That I can help you with your extremely pressing issue. I have all the skills and know-how needed to solve your unrequited love -”

“Friendship,” Link interjected quickly. “Unrequited friendship.”

“- of the lovely Zelda.” Sidon finished. He didn’t look as if he had heard Link’s earlier input. 

Link looked pained. “I really don’t think that’s necessary…”

Sidon fixed Link with a stare. His best friend was so unbelievably _dense_. Capable, yes, and arguably the greatest swordsman Knight School has had in decades, but dense. “You’ve been pining after her for weeks. I’ve seen the way you look at her in class. I’ve seen the way you clam up when she’s near. Heck, I even overheard her asking Impa if you were mute.” Link’s ears turned bright scarlet. “Face it, you don’t have a plan. And if you carry on this way you’re just gonna implode.”

“And you do? Have one? A plan?” This seemed like an unnecessary question, even to him. But at this point he had quite given up on attempting to pilot the situation, and had decided that the best course of action would be to shut up and drift along with the flow of the conversation.

“Duh.” Sidon looked outright offended. “You’re looking at the one everyone calls Merman Cupid.” From behind his back, Sidon pulled out a heavy, leather bound book. Had he been leaning on it the whole time? Link wondered. That can’t have been comfortable. But it was such a Sidon thing to do for the sake of theatrics. “In here are all the many many secrets of this Cupid on one of the most important subjects in all of Hyrule.” He paused here for dramatic effect. “How to get a date.” He looked at Link’s face. He shrugged. “Or a friend. If you do it by the book, I’m sure you can get one.”

“Hold on, hold on.” Link shook his head to clear it. “There’s a book about this sort of thing?”

“Well, yeah, as long as there’s a willing author who sees worth in a subject there can and will be a book.”

Link didn’t like the direction this was taking. “And said author is…”

“Me, of course.” Sidon said, looking as if there was no other obvious answer but this. “If I were you I wouldn’t worry. These tactics have all been done before, and I have sourced and vetted them all by myself, you’re welcome, and have made any modifications as I have deemed necessary.” 

That would mean that that heavy leather book was written and probably bound by Sidon himself. Sidon was what, Link’s age? Leather doesn’t look so aged so fast. Which meant either 1) Sidon had sought out aged leather (unlikely to be sold) or 2) Sidon had spent time making the new leather look worn. Probably the second option, Link decided. And probably just for the aesthetic.

“What source? And who in the entirety of Hyrule would call you ‘Mermaid Cupid’?”

Wasn’t he the densest little Hylian Sidon had ever met. How cute. “My fan club is. My fan club does.”

Oh. Of course.

“So these would be -”

“A nifty collection of all the ways my fans have tried to ask me out. Many of them are actually incredibly ingenious. All lovely people, but you know I haven’t found the one yet. They were all quite willing to help me write this. We’re all friends now, anyway.”

Link would look back at this conversation often in the days to come, but even then he would have to agree that he didn’t have another possible course of action from that position.

Zelda was the most popular girl in all of Knight School, and for good reason. She could shoot. She could use a spear. She could play the harp. Her horsemanship was top notch. She rescued squirrels and baby birds that fell out of trees. She would pluck apples for the local Koroks every other day. Everyone wanted to be her friend, and everyone was her friend.

And then there was Link. Yeah, so maybe he was a fantastic archer. Maybe he was supposedly the best swordsman to come through the gates of Knight School in a while. But he overslept daily. He was awkward and quiet. He had few friends apart from Sidon. He went weirdly mute whenever Zelda so much as breathed near him. And worse of all, cats hated him. Link lost count of how many times Sidon had to comfort him when they had been younger, as he cried after getting rejected by yet another feline. Sidon was right. Link didn’t have a plan to approach Zelda.

Then, quietly, by his ear, “Don’t you want to be friends with Zelda?”

“Y-yes,” Link stammered out.

“Do you want to be friends?”

“Yes.” Link said, more confidently this time. Zelda liked everyone. She was that kind of person who could see the good in you, and made you see the good in yourself. And if she liked you and was your friend, how bad could you be, even if cats ran away from you at first sight?

“LOUDER!” Sidon yelled. “GET YOUR RESOLVE IN IT.”

“Yes!” Link said loudly. Heck yes, he wanted to know what she liked, to know what she disliked. He wanted to know how she laughed when people told jokes. He wanted to tell her his silly puns and jokes to make her happy.

“AND WHY DO YOU WANT ZELDA TO BE YOUR FRIEND?” Sidon was practically screaming now.

“SHE’S REALLY COOL!” Yelled Link.

“ARE YOU READY TO DO THIS?”

“YES!”

“DO YOU TRUST ME?”

“YES!” Link screamed mindlessly.

“GREAT! LET SIDON’S GREAT PLAN BEGIN!” Sidon proclaimed. It was nearly deafening.

Link was brought crashing back to reality. He blinked. Wait, what did he just say?

The Plan to Make Link Friends With Zelda Plan Alpha Alpha, or Sidon’s Great Plan for short, went like this:

1\. The book contained plans grouped in 3 progressive stages: minor, modest, and major.  
These stages could be seen as being arranged by:  
a) The amount of effort and logistics Link and assisting parties would have to invest to make the plan work, or, if you read the small print  
b) The degree of loss of dignity and/or reputation Link might possibly have to sustain  
In ascending order.  
2\. The three plans to be put into action were individual situations selected after thorough discussion, a contract written and signed, and  
3\. Everything would be done by the book.

With the three plans selected, Link, persuaded powerfully by Sidon’s great belief in him, did what he could to prepare for the first stage the next week.

***

##### Sidon’s Great Plan #1 - A Minor Requirement of Strength

“Quick Link, she’s here!” Sidon pushed Link back behind the corner. “You remember the plan?”

Link nodded mutely. He felt the butterflies that always came when Zelda entered a two-metre radius. But Link was someone who could perform under pressure. He had faced down countless moblins and even one Lynel before without much damage. He was ready. And besides, they had a plan this time around.

“Ok. Action!” Sidon gave Link a fist bump and a bright smile before hurrying out to the clearing.

“Zeldy! Zeldy!”

Crouched behind the wall, Link peeked out a little. He could see Sidon calling for Zelda, arms waving as he skipped over to her. Zelda was a little way away. Beside her was Urbosa, a good friend of hers. Link gulped. Urbosa was hugely respected by all for her fantastic fighting skills and upright character. Link knew that if Zelda had any enemies Urbosa would squash them flat before she let them hurt her.

If she got wind of a dubious plan involving Zelda, she surely wouldn’t hesitate to show the offenders what she thought of them. Link shuddered at the very thought.

He turned to look at the sky. Hmm. It was rather cloudy. Since when did it get that cloudy?

Zelda turned and her face lit up when she saw Sidon. She waved at him as she started towards him.

“Zeldy! I’ve got the book you lent me!” Sidon yelled. Link directed his gaze up to Sidon’s waving arms. He could see the shape of the book gripped loosely in his hands. “I’ll pass it back to you -” A tree root.

With an amazing semblance of grace, the Zora fell flat on his face. There was a muffled scream. The book went flying, flying...and it landed high up on a tree branch. 

Sidon flipped himself around and lay there, and four pairs of eyes stared at the book. It lay open, face-down, perched precariously on a branch. A particularly strong gust of wind blew past, and the pages fluttered indignantly in the breeze. Sidon’s look of dismay was truly impressive.

By this time, Zelda and Urbosa had made it to the tree.

“Well done, Zora,” Urbosa commented dryly. She looked rather amused.

Zelda’s mouth was open. “It’s...rather high, isn’t it?”

Sidon scrambled up to his feet. “It’s okay, I can get it down! I know just the person. Wait here!” He took off running. When he rounded the corner, he almost crashed straight into Link who had completely forgot to retract his head from where he had been watching everything unfold.

“Now’s your chance!” Sidon panted lightly. He grinned up at Link. It had all gone perfectly. Then his grin faded. Link had that look on his face that meant that his feet had turned to ice. “No, no, you can’t back out now! I know you can do it, Link!”

“But,” said Link. “Won’t it be weird for you to go and get me when Urbosa can easily climb the tree herself? Have you seen those _muscles_?” He waited for a reaction. He didn’t get it.

Sidon stared, nonplussed. “Yeah, Urbosa being there was unexpected. But I know that she got some unfortunate blisters on her hands from sparring two days ago. If there’s the chance of another person coming, she won’t climb the tree.”

Link blinked. “Then there’s nothing to worry about right?”

“Or course not!” Sidon pumped his fist. “Go save the day, Link! Remember: by the book! You’re the only one here who can pull off jumping up trees, for goodness’ sake. Go show them what you’ve got!”

And then, the rain came. The sky crackled with lightning and there was a deafening roar of thunder and sheets of rain came down without prelude. In an instant Link was soaked to the bone.

This was not according to the plan.

“Sidon, Sidon, I can’t jump up trees in the rain,” whispered Link urgently. “I’ll slide down again and look like and idiot. You have to go there and do it.”

“I’m a _fish_ , I can’t climb!” Sidon hissed. “You know this! Listen, the longer you take to _get out there_ , the more the book is going to get wet!”

“Oh, crap.” Link stood up and ran around the corner. Sidon followed closely behind, so he couldn’t stop in time when Link halted a few metres later. They both stared.

Zelda emerged from the green canopy as she climbed down a tall ladder. In her right arm she clutched the book. Below her, Urbosa held the ladder steady as she descended. She looked over at Link and Sidon.

“We found a ladder over there! Don’t worry about us, go in quickly or you’ll catch a cold!” Zelda called out from the ladder. Her wet hair stuck to her scalp and neck and back, and the cotton of her clothes was heavy with water. The same went for Urbosa, though she had a large frown on her face and a thundery expression that Zelda didn’t.

“They...they may have been pruning the trees earlier than scheduled,” said Link, sounding hoarse. “There isn’t usually a ladder here…”

The ladder _definitely_ wasn’t part of the plan.

The next day saw Link in the infirmary with a mild fever.

“I haven’t been sleeping well these nights,” he confided in Sidon as Mipha took his temperature and sighed at what she saw. “So I went to practice more.”

“You had insomnia and you went to practice sword fighting in the middle of the night.” Sidon repeated, handing the medication over to Link. “So you caught a cold from the rain yesterday.”

“Link dear, please don’t do that again.” Mipha gave him a glare that has been known to scare cuccos away. Link withered slightly. “Health is a precious commodity.”

##### Sidon’s Great Plan #2 - A Modest Requirement of Strength

“Have you heard of the fire lily?” Sidon had asked Link during one of their planning sessions. Link had looked up and stared back at Sidon with a blank expression. He shook his head.

“The fire lily is an ultra, ultra rare flower. It’s used by Gorons to express their appreciation for one another and basically, if a Goron gives it to you it means they really, really like you. It can be used for friends that they want to stay friends with for the rest of their lives, or for lovers. 

“So there’s a plan here - you know how Zelda reads widely right? She’s definitely got to know about plants and stuff, and about the fire lily. If you get one for her, it not only conveys your desire to befriend her in the most passionate and powerful way, but it also proves your character as a brave and courageous warrior who would go to great lengths for the people they love.” Sidon took a big breath. “But there’s one catch.”

Link sighed. “Lay it on me.”

“These flowers, they only grow in the Eldin region,” Sidon said slowly, enunciating each word carefully. “They grow quite high up the mountain.”

“Death Mountain.” Link’s eyes widened. He had always wanted to go there, if only going there didn’t mean bursting spontaneously into flames…

“I wrote here that there’s a Goron I know who has firebreaker armour. But they’re his grandpa’s, so if it comes back dented there will be consequences. You’re quite a careful guy, so there should be no problem right?”

“Right,” Link affirmed. Besides, wasn’t firebreaker armour made out of some strange and durable alloy? How easy would it be to put a dent into one of those?

Pretty easy, as it turned out.

Sidon waited by the side gate of the school compound, searching anxiously for Link’s return. Then, he heard the whoosh of a being in flight. On the grass, a shadow grew larger and larger as it approached him. Sidon looked up to see Link gliding in on his paraglider. He waved.

As Link got closer, Sidon could see that his hair was singed, his face was covered in soot, and the armour. Oh, the armour.

Link landed on his feet before collapsing in a little heap and lay there, panting. He seemed rather charred.

“How did it go?” Sidon asked nervously. 

Link glared at the grass. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

That sounded...bad. “But did you get the flower?”

Rummaging around, Link pulled out a small sack and tossed it up to Sidon. Sidon loosened the knot and pulled open the sack. From the opening, he could see the brilliant orange flower.

“Nicely done, Link! I knew you could do it,” Sidon knotted the sack. “But uh...your firebreaker armour is quite...damaged…”

A deep, long-drawn groan, muffled by the grass.

Faintly, Sidon and Link suddenly heard a familiar voice. They turned around slowly, then at each other, then back again. Link, who had stiffened up earlier, slumped back down in an exhausted puddle, resigned to his fate.

A little way away, Yunebo walked the gardens with an elderly Goron. They were headed in their direction. “...so you see, gramps, I’ve been doing well here. I’m paying attention in class and I’m practicing hard.”

“Aye, that’s good to hear.” The elderly Goron wore the armour of a Goron chief, and even with his hunched back and uneven gait radiated an aura of power. “I say, that flamebreaker set I passed down to you. Are you using it in lessons?”

Yunebo frowned. “But gramps, you know I don’t need it. I have Daruk’s Protection. And if I dent in lessons you’ll be super pissed.”

Gramps raised an unimpressed eyebrow. “Then don’t get hit in practice. Easy as that.” At Yunebo’s sigh, gramps continued, “If you don’t learn how to use armour, how can you fight back and defend yourself at the same time? In that hamster ball of yours you can’t, no matter how good a defense it is. Say, if you’re not using it, your old gramps would like to see his old armour set.”

Yunebo stiffed up. “Uh...well, the thing is...I lent it to some friends of mine…”

“What for?”

Yunebo visibly shrank under his gaze. “To climb Death Mountain,” he stammered out.

“TO CLIMB DEATH MOUNTAIN?” Gramps looked like his brain had just fried a circuit. “YOU REALISE DEATH MOUNTAIN LITERALLY _SPEWS_ FLAMING ROCKS DOWN ITS SLOPES? WHERE IS THIS FRIEND OF YOURS?”

Which was exactly the time Yunebo made eye contact with Sidon, who was now only a few metres away. And from Sidon, Yunebo’s gaze travelled down. He took in the sight of Link in the firebreaker armour. Except that the firebreaker armour was now dented in several places, and covered in soot. There was also a whole lot of scratch marks that made it look like it had seen a few of those flaming rocks. Which it had.

He looked back at Sidon, whose yellow eyes were somehow wider than they had been before. Yunebo gave what he hoped to be an apologetic look.

Gramps followed Yunebo’s gaze, and he locked onto Link.

It is said that a Goron’s rage is like a lava river unleashed. Link found that to be very true.

Across the field, Zelda and Urbosa were making their way back to the school building when Zelda tugged at Urbosa’s arm and pointed. “What’s going on over there?”

“Over there” consisted of a large, white haired Goron who seemed to be pummeling the living daylights out of a red Zora and what appeared, from that distance, to be a huge lump of coal. A smaller Goron with a sky blue scarf (Yunebo?) tugged ineffectually at the older Goron.

Then. “Is that coal lump a person?”

Urbosa followed her gaze. “Why, yes. That’s Sidon and Link. But...it’s best not to get in the way of a Goron’s rage. Besides, that old elder won’t do severe harm.” She glanced sideways at Zelda. “Never thought you’d see _him_ like this, hmm?”

Zelda’s cheeks were dusted pink. Who would expect to see Knight School’s best cadet covered in ashes and being served by an elderly Goron known for his back pain? With one more glance back, she and Urbosa continued on walking.

Long story short, Link and Sidon paid for the armour to be repaired by selling off a rare material. The fire lily, worth just about the same as a few diamonds, just about covered the cost. And that was the end of Plan 2.

In the nurse’s office, Mipha sighed as she applied burn cream to Link’s various injuries, tutting over them. She had long stopped being stressed by all of Link’s new injuries. But no matter how small or how big, she would always help him.

“Tell me how we’re related again?”

Link blinked. “We’re not.”

“Yes, thank goodness.”

##### Sidon’s Great Plan #3 - A Major Requirement of Strength

Mixing elixirs was tricky business. But in a way, being in knight school made that much easier.

First, one would need monster parts, the rarer the better. Then, one would need creatures that could bestow the desired effects. Mix it in a cooking pot, and the elixir would be yours.

In knight school, the kitchen pantry had a huge shelf dedicated to these things, all collected by the students and stored. So what should have been the hardest step is easy peasy for a student at knight school.

“This truth elixir rather deviates from the traditional stick-stuff-in-the-pot-and-hope-it-works-because-it’s-an-insect-and-a-monster-part thing,” Sidon observed as he held the book up under the light. “It’s actually more like one of those dishes that impart effects, but the number of hearts is so minimal it’s practically just the effect itself.”

Sidon and Link stood between pantry shelves, staring at rows and rows of uh, lovely bottles. Link was pretty sure that one was full of Hinox toenails, and the one beside that of Moblin horns, but he really didn’t want to look closer at the one next to _that_. There was a foul smell, and it looked like it would ooze.

Yuck. Link shuddered. No one particularly enjoyed holding those oozy stuff. Like Molduga guts. Yeesh.

“I’ll read out the instructions and you grab them, yes? Cane sugar, one apple, Hylian yeast... and that’s pretty much it.”

Link was reaching out his hand to grab more ingredients. “Really?”

Sidon scratched his head. “I guarantee it’s very, very potent.”

Link shrugged. Okay.

Both of them headed to the cooking tables. Link set the ingredients down, and Sidon toddled to the back of the room and came back holding a glass bottle with an airtight cap. Together, they juiced the apple and added all the ingredients into the bottle. After filling it with warm water, Sidon squeezed the seal back on, making sure there was no air inside.

They left it by the window in Sidon’s room. Two days later, it was ready.

Link took a cautious sniff. “Isn’t this...alcohol?”

“Yes,” Sidon said. “Yes it is.”

“You said this was a tru - ohhh. Liquid Courage. Lemme see the book for a moment?”

Sidon passed the book to Link, who flipped through the pages detailing the plan. “It says that this should be drunk by either of the pair involved,” Link read. He looked up. “No way we can give this to Zelda, that’s just...so wrong in so many ways.

“I’ll do it.” Link squared his shoulders. “I mean… I want to be friends with her right? It’s only fair that I...I tell her myself.”

“I knew you would say that!” Sidon grinned happily at his friend not being a creep. “Hylian yeast is rather powerful so I’d say that this bottle should easily be 15% alcohol. Your usual wine.”

And so it was that they would add it to Link’s cup at dinnertime.

Seated across each other at the dining table, Sidon and Link held up their goblets. 

“You ready?” whispered Sidon. Link nodded. They both tilted back their heads and gulped the liquid down. Link set his goblet down. That didn’t feel so bad.

Sidon placed his goblet down heavily, breathing hard. He looked up at Link. “Which… which glass did you put the thing in?”

“My usual glass,” Link replied. “The one with the nick at the bottom? I was telling you about it last week.”

“No, no,” In Sidon’s eyes was growing horror. “That was me telling you about _my_ glass.”

Oh. Oh dear.

“...and alcohol is much more potent for a Zora,” Link felt vines grow from his feet up, up to his chest, entangling his heart and squeezing tightly. 

A hiccup. “I, I’m so…” Hiccup. “I’m so sorry…” Sidon could feel the alcohol coursing through his veins, rising like a flood in front of his very eyes. His tongue loosened from his usual hold on it. “I...don’t know what…” Hiccup. The room was getting all spinny. “I’ll..say…”

“No, don’t be,” Link saw the fear in Sidon’s eyes as the effects of the cider. Alcohol broke off all rails to the logic train, Link knew that. But that didn’t stop the chill that suddenly came. “It was my fault.”

Sidon lay his head down on the table, but it didn’t seem to be there. He wondered if the other people in the room could see his mind floating away, out the open window to the left. He giggled. Another hiccup.

Then a voice clear as the sun, “Hi Sidon, Link.” Zelda. Sidon raised his head and stared blearily at her. She stood a little way away, or so it seemed, and there seemed to be two of her. Both Zeldas smiled. “I heard that you had something to say to me?”

From the corner of Sidon’s eyes, he could see Link (there were three of him, were there always three of him?) stand up abruptly. His many hands were wringing the hem of his many shirts. His face was a tomato.

“H...H…” Yes, thought Sidon, spit it out Link! “Heup...H...Hya _aaah._ ”

...

Was… was that like,meant to be a ‘hello’ or something? 

Link blinked and blinked and blinked. Clearly, he felt as surprised as Zelda looked. Zelda unconsciously took a tiny step back.

“Is now a good time?” She looked slightly sad. Sidon looked from her to Link, then back to Zelda.

And then he promptly burst into tears.

“Zelda, Zelda dear,” Sidon scrambled clumsily from his chair and grabbed Zelda’s hands in his own. “Do...do you h-hate Link?” He gazed up at her with teary eyes.

Zelda, taken aback, could do nothing else but shake her head vigorously.

Sidon dragged the back of his hand across his eyes. He sniffed. “Be-because Link really, really, _really_ , superrr duuuuper really wants to be fwiends with you.”

“Really?” Zelda looked at Link. His face was spicy pepper red as he stared at Sidon, clearly not able to mentally process what was going on.

Sidon nodded earnestly. He gripped Zelda’s hand more tightly. “He tells me _every day_ about how cool and nice and aweeeeeesome you are because you’re nice to _everyone_ and you can _lead_ people and that you’re rrrweally pretty and and,” Sidon took a deep breath, then whispered conspiratorially. “Cats _like_ you.”

By now, the entire dining hall was staring at the three of them. Zelda turned once more to face Link.

“Link?” Link raised his gaze to meet hers. “Is that all true?”

Link suddenly seemed aware of the weight of the looks coming from the everyone. 

“I - I…” Link squeezed his eyes shut. He felt nauseous. “I’m sorry.”

Then he dashed out of the hall, down the corridor that lead to the rooms as everyone watched him go.

Later that night, much later, when the effects of the apple cider wore off, Sidon turned the key and entered the room he shared with Link. Link was sprawled on his bunk. He lay face down, body angled to the wall. He looked, well, he looked the same way he had during the first year, when he failed to defeat the Hinox for mid-year assessment.

After Link had run from the dining hall, Sidon hazily remembered a long moment of silence. Then chaos.

Through the cacophony, he remembered seeing Urbosa seated nearby, a bubble of silence within the noise. Yet her soft whisper reached his ears. “So...the ladder and the tree. Who would have thought.”

His next memory was of Zelda looking down at the floor, blue eyes dark and heavy with the weight of the burden he had just placed on her. A bolt of realisation had hit him, then, along with the shame and the guilt as the alcohol drained slowly from his mind.

Sidon set his things down on his desk. He turned to face Link in the dark. “I’m so, _so_ sorry.”

He clambered onto his place at the top bunk and lay quietly. Then, a soft voice. “It wsn ant yur felt.”

Sidon poked his head over the edge. “Sorry what was that?”

Link turned so that his voice wouldn’t be muffled by the heavy blanket. “S’not your fault.”

But still. If only he had not dragged Link along with his plans, this wouldn’t have happened.

As if Link could hear Sidon’s thoughts, his voice floated up again, sofly. “I - I don’t blame you at all. Go sleep.” A small comfort, but a comfort no less.

***

The next day was Saturday, and there were no classes. Zelda walked through the corridors, headed to the library, and with every corner she turned, she craned her neck to see if she could catch a glimpse of sandy blond hair. She couldn’t.

Meanwhile, Urbosa had Sidon cornered inside of the pantry. In one hand was her famed scythe. Sidon looked at it and gulped. That thing was sharp.

“Talk, fish,” Urbosa held up the scythe menacingly.

“Okay, okay, but please put that… incredibly sharp object away from my fins. I’ll say the truth.” Sidon didn’t remove his gaze from the scythe.

Icy fingers jerked his face so that he looked at her. “My eyes are here. What did you and Link intend to do with the princess? Talk fast and tell me. _Now._ ” So Sidon told.

Halfway, Urbosa raised the scythe under Sidon’s chin. Her eyes blazed with the fury of the Gerudo midday sun. “You planned to _drug_ her?” She hissed.

Sidon backpeddled furiously. “No! Of course not! Link said and I quote ‘it’ll be wrong in so many ways.’. And - and I agreed with him completely that it would be literally the worse thing. It was meant for _him_. As liquid courage. But, uh, he put it in the wrong cup.”

“And everything you said when you were drunk is true?”

Sidon winced and whispered, “Yes.”

Urbosa took a step back and sheathed her scythe. “So… the book, the Goron, and the cider.” She looked at Sidon, unimpressed. “He could have just _said something_.”

She glared at Sidon as he remained with his back pressed against the stone walls. “There was no ill intentions from either of you. And you should know that Zelda feels awful about the whole affair. She wishes to speak with Link.”

“He’s still in the room. He probably won’t come out for the whole day.” Sidon said. But at Urbosa’s glare he hurried on. “But I think I know where he’ll be tonight.”

When the moon shone brightly overhead, Link swung his legs over his bunk. He stood up, stretched, and put on his tunic. In the bunk overhead, Sidon snored.

Link quietly opened the door and left. As he tugged the door shut silently, Sidon’s eyes peeked open, and he smiled softly before falling back asleep. Silly little Hylian. In this way, still so predictable.

Link slowly made his way to the kitchens. The stars were bright tonight. His stomach rumbled loudly. Served him right for not eating the whole day. Now he felt alive enough to make himself a nice meal. He decided on a hot creamy heart soup for his aching heart.

As the pot simmered, the savoury smell wafted around the room. It was a pleasant aroma. Not many people knew the recipe, and not many could cook it very well. Himself? Well, he had practiced a lot with Urbosa breathing down his neck every time he messed up her tribe’s traditional dish.

Cooking was his hobby. He learned many dishes from the peoples he met. Sidon had a book about flirting techniques, and he had a book that compiled many recipes. Sidon. He smiled. It wasn’t often one could find a friend like him. Regardless of what had happened, Link knew that Sidon’s heart was probably the purest of anyone he had ever met. Except maybe Mipha, though she got upset whenever others got injured. But they were siblings, so he supposed it wasn’t a big surprise. But if only purity of heart was hereditary...

Deep in his thoughts, Link didn’t hear the soft footsteps coming into the kitchen.

“Hey. Is that creamy heart soup?”

Link dropped the ladle he was holding. He whipped his head around to see Zelda standing there in simple Hylian garb, a soft but slightly cautious smile on her face, silhouetted by the starlight. Link’s face turned radish-red and the snatched the ladle off the ground.

Three second rule, he told himself as he held the soup ladle close.

Zelda laughed, and Link realised that he had said it aloud. She sat down on the bench next to him.

“Did Urbosa teach you this? Smells just like it does when she cooks it.”

Link met Zelda’s gaze and nodded shyly. She looked back at the pot, at the burning embers that lay beneath. Small bubbles began to rise from the broth. “So...yesterday.”

Yesterday. Earth came crashing back down as he remembered. He knew it. She hated him. She’d never want to be his friend.

“I’d like to be your friend, Link.”

Link blinked at her, and almost dropped the ladle again. Wait, what?

“W-what?”

“You seem like a nice person. I heard about it all from Urbosa - the book, the fire lily. And the cider.” She took a deep breath. “You clearly have basic respect for others to not force anything on them, and I think the whole fire lily debacle was rather cute. I’ve actually already seen how you leap up trees. It’s really quite admirable, though I also know that you’ve fallen down many times throughout the years trying to learn that skill. So, perseverance. Courage. I think you’re alright.”

She looked Link in the eyes. “But one thing about the fire lily. Try not to get hurt so often, especially when it’s unnecessary. I’d hate it if my friends put themselves in danger and got injured because of me.”

“Friend?” Link croaked out. Was he dreaming? Was this amazing, strong, powerful young lady calling him her friend? Even though even now, the kitchen cat hid behind the pantry door, avoiding him?

Zelda pondered for a while. “Ah. Not yet. You’ve got to let my try this soup first.”

Link immediately shot up to get another bowl. He came back with two, and hesitated when he arrived back and realised that he had already taken one for himself.

“That’s fine,” Zelda said with a smile. “Don’t worry about it.”

He spooned a bowl of hot soup and handed it to Zelda. Then, he got himself a bowl. He watched her as she took a small spoonful, blew on it, and drank it. His racing heart slowed down a few paces when she smiled, eyes closed.

“That was delicious. Thank you, Link.”

“Are we friends now?” he asked.

She laughed. “I was just kidding about that. The soup.” She took the soup ladle from him and poured a ladleful into the third, extra bowl, and crossed the room to lay it near the ajar pantry door. After a moment, the grey kitchen cat padded out to lick at the soup. It purred happily.

“Eating together can bond people, and even animals,” she said as they looked at the cat, her with delight and he with complete, utter shock.

Eating together bonded people. Link looked down at his half empty bowl, and at hers where she had left it when she had crossed to feed the cat. Now she was walking back. Link looked at his bowl once more, then at her.

His heart and stomach was warm with new friendship and soup. He made a mental note to thank Sidon, even if everything didn’t really go by the book. Well, it worked out in the end.

He raised his half empty bowl, and gesturing to hers, asked, “Friends?”

Zelda picked up her own bowl and touched it to Links. The dull clink, bell like, didn’t even startle the cat. The soup sloshed gently, the smell wafted up once more. She smiled. “Friends."

**Author's Note:**

> everyone needs them a hype man like Sidon :3
> 
> do let me know what you think of it! hope you enjoyed it, thank you for reading ^^


End file.
